Lincoln man one step closer to preserving century-old building

The Strode Building was built in 1917 and housed many automotive companies through the years.

Wednesday, January 9th 2019, 10:23 PM CST by Joe Harris

The Strode Building is a large, automotive building near 16th and O streets in Lincoln.

It was built in 1917 and housed many automotive companies through the years.

On Wednesday, the Lincoln/Lancaster County Planning Commission voted to declare the building a local landmark.

Jeff Koepke is the building's soon–to–be co-owner. He said he applied for the designation so he could keep the Strode Building around.

"It was built right on the Detroit–Lincoln–Denver Highway back when the automotive industry was beginning to flourish," Koepke said. "And so there's a lot of automotive history in that building that makes it very interesting."

The most recent auto–related company housed there was Economy and Performance Auto Services, which closed in November.

Koepke said he wants the building to stick around longer and plans to renovate the it.

"To give something back instead of just tearing buildings down or totally changing them from what they used to be," Koepke said. "That we can preserve the history of the building for the future."

He said he plans to have retail on the first floor, 13 apartments on the second and an indoor parking garage.

He said the planning commission's approval is just one of many steps and that it will go to the Lincoln City Council for final approval.

He said he hopes to have the work on the Strode building done by the end of this year.